I like making prefabs (barricades, perches, the occasional bunker) out of the textured black metal. I use metal because it's tougher than wood and cheaper than steel or concrete; I use black metal because black is always 23.6% more awesome (scientific FACT). It didn't make much sense to build welded-plate structures with a mallet, so I made something way cooler.

Stat-wise, it's still just a hammer. Poor player and block damage, but it builds prefabs fast.